1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an improvement in woodwind musical instrument mouthpieces to enable an altered tone quality to be produced. More particularly, the invention contemplates a modification of the mouthpiece for single reed instruments, such as clarinets and saxophones, wherein an independently mounted secondary reed is placed inside the hollow mouthpiece chamber, the secondary reed vibrating sympathetically when the primary reed is placed in vibrating motion during ordinary use of the instrument to which the mouthpiece is attached.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Acoustical principles underlying sympathetic vibrations or sympathetic resonance are disclosed in the volume Sensations of Tone, H.L.F. Helmholtz, Longmans, Green Company, London (1885), as well as the acoustical theory underlying certain reed instruments, such as the clarinet.
A mouthpiece for a reed instrument is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,583,382, issued May 4, 1926, to Bauer, where a single piece of stamped bifurcated metal is secured to the inside surface of the mouthpiece, where functioning depends on a critical position in the mouthpiece of the inserted piece of metal in order to accomplish its purpose. DeLuca in U.S. Pat. No. 2,530,155, issued Nov. 14, 1950, discloses a musical instrument mouthpiece for varying the tonal qualities by the musician, and Brilhart in U.S. Pat. No. 2,397,593, issued Apr. 2, 1946, describes a musical instrument mouthpiece having a tone-modifying member inserted within the tone chamber of the mouthpiece. Strathmann in U.S. Pat. No. 3,202,032, issued Aug. 24, 1965, also discloses a musical instrument mouthpiece with a wedge-shaped member slidably adjusted lengthwise of the mouthpiece bore parallel to the inclined upper wall of a conventional mouthpiece. None of these patents contains a disclosure of a secondary reed suspended in the instrument mouthpiece tone chamber substantially parallel to the primary reed, nor is there a disclosure of a device inside the tone chamber set in motion sympathetically by vibrations of the primary reed. Other related patents include the following:
U.S. Pat. Nos: 2,224,719--Dec. 10, 1940--Brilhart 2,499,855--Mar. 7, 1950--Gamble 3,029,554--Apr. 17, 1962--Mobley 3,579,903--May 25, 1971--Stewart 3,791,253--Feb. 12, 1974--Pascucci et al.